Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-26
THE AMERICAN ROBIN.

Some of the Habits and Everyday Life
of This CHEEKY Bird-Its Family Cares. +
Yesterday saw couple of boys
honest, well-meaning little fellows, but
ghtless-th throwing sharp-cornered.
ugly stones at some robins that were
very busily and happily picking up
worms on the parade grounds of the
Boston Common. 1t quite spoiled the
birds breakfast, am afraid, for they
were constantly frightened from one
spot to another, so that they could
take no comfort Of it even when they
did get good bill-full. 1t happered
that had been looking out for robins
all through this cold spring, and these
were among the first that arrived. 1t
really was rather rough welcome,
wasn't itp Then I thought to myself
if those boys knew more about the
habits and everyday life of those red
vested birds, and so learned to love
them, they would want to throw
crumbs instead ct stones; perhaps
they would even try to turn up the
earth here and there Gf the policemen
didn't catch them), and see how the
birds would gather round, and what
fun they would have picking up their
mornings meal.
The American robin has nothing to
do with the s.Redbreast'' Of old En-
gland. 1 remember standing on the
shores of beautiful Loeb Katrine in
Scotland, and, as I looked out over the
dimpling. hill-shadowed waters, having
| o44 Tod To email bird
about the size of a sparrow, futtering
in and out of bush at my side. In a
minute or two I had a good look at
him, and then felt at once as if had
known him for years. For had I not
time and again seen pictures of him
CARRYING leaves to cover the Babes in
the Wood, or lying pitifully on his back
with an arrow sticking straight out OF
his pretty breast, or peeping in at the
latticed windows of English cottages
with bright eyes exactly like those be-
| fore me? Yes, there was no mistaking
my first real Robin-Redbreast; and a
very different bird he was from the
stout hearted, cheerful, Woodworking
/ thrush that we call robin.
So much for the English bird; and
now for our own again. Thrush
I said; for, as many of you know, the
robin is one of the true thrushes. Our
commonest thrushes are: Song thrush,
hermit thrush, veery, olive-backed
thrush, brown thrush, robin, cat-bird
one for each day of the week If yor
watch them you will see that they al
| 4Io Lob. hot thou
have the same clear, sweet whistle
that their nests are built in the same
general way Except that the robin
uses mud as we'll as dried grassy. ane
that they generally run instead OF hop
ping.
A few robins stay in the Northern
States throughout the winter, but mos
of them take pleasure-trips to New
Mexico and Central America. They
return soon after the first of March,
and about four weeks later commence
to build. We all know where to lool
for their nests-in the crotch or sad
died. on the bough of an apple tree
or a low pine in the pasture just be.
yond the tree, or low pine in the
i pasture just beyond the orchard
Sometimes they choose odd places fol
home. have seen one on the linte
of the front door of house, and an.
other in decayed cavity in a large
fruit tree.
After a firm foundation of mud il
laid, almost any thing soft will do t.
help out the walls of the nest, such al
pieces of cloth, string. or newspaper
Four or five light-blue eggs are laid
and fortnight later the delicate SKY
colored shells have vanished, leaving
, in their places cluster of yellow. gap
ing mouths.
Now commences the real labor OF .
robins life; labor such as few woult
ever guess. Mr.. Samuels tells us, il
, his interesting book about birds. that
young robin, kept in cage by frien'